Sustainability - A driving force for Innovation

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Sustainability - A driving force for Innovation
The Role of education and research
Klaus Woltron
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Content

• The actual situation
• Why sustainability?
• Challenges and possibilities
• Opportunities and responsibilities for
  universities

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The speakers sustainability - related History

• 10 years project engineer in nuclear energy (A,
  BRD, Brazil, UdSSR)
• 13 years CEO in energy and environmental
  techniques (SGP, ABB)
• 3 years Speaker for Environmental affairs
  Austrian chamber of commerce, Industry section
• Member of the supervisory board of Sustainable
  Performance Group (SPG AG) (Investment company,
  Zurich)
• Member of the Advisory Board of Chicago Climate
  Exchange (CCX)
• Owner/shareholder of 4 enterprises
• Co Chairman of Club of Vienna
• Co President of TUV Austria
• Triple grandfather

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The actual situation
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Drastic demographic changes
The actual situation
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Increasing pollution in the emerging regions
The actual situation
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Increasing hunger for energy
The actual situation
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Increasing mobility on the road and in the air
The actual situation
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A communicating world
The actual situation
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Riches get richer
The actual situation
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Liberty is not secured
The actual situation
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Violence is prevailing
The actual situation
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Enormous dynamics in all areas of society

• Technology
• Lifestyle
• Migration
• Political environment
• Borderless economy
• Styles of cooperation
• Communication networks
• Reengineering of life

The actual situation
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Unpredictable scenarios
planability -
laminar
yesterday
today
turbulent
The actual situation
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Why sustainability?
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Technology enabled the growth of mankind's
populations
Years
Why sustainability?
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There is no way back to pure nature
Without controlled use of technology earth cannot
nurture more than max. 1,5 billion people
Why sustainability?
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Growth in any respect
Outlook to 2050
..but not so much in insight and wisdom.
Source ETH Zurich, A. Zehnder
Why sustainability?
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Co2 - Emissions
total
Source ETH Zurich, A. Zehnder
Fossile fuels
Forests, soil
Why sustainability?
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Global warming
Source United Nations Environment Program
http//www.grida.no/climate/vital/19.htm
Why sustainability?
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Increase of disasters
Source Swiss Re
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Challenges and possibilities

• Recommendations and remarks

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Steps into a sustainable world
Economic incentives and system approach
Responsibility for causalities
Measures against causes
Target - oriented measures
Regulations, subsidies
End of pipe
Problem identification
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Club of Rome
Efficiency increase
Sustainability as guiding principle of all
decisions
Red. Of poverty, stab. of pop. growth
2000 Watt-society (?)
Rio Tokyo
(follows ETH/Zehnder)
Challenges and possibilities
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Increase of efficiency makes a 2000 Watt
society possible
Challenges and possibilities
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2000- Watt- Society
Challenges and possibilities
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In average 2000 Watt/Person
Challenges and possibilities
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From gas guzzlers to nearly emission free
vehicles
Challenges and possibilities
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Bulbs who give light instead of heat
Challenges and possibilities
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Fuel made of wood
Challenges and possibilities
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New fuelling techniques
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Buildings without CO2- emissions
Challenges and possibilities
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Taming capitalism from pure profit to more
complex target/incentive systems
Paradigm change
Circuit of control in capital allocation
(Woltron, GAIA 1/2004)
Challenges and possibilities
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Opportunities and chances for universities

• The challenge to set examples

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Core elements of education values

1. Safeguarding human development
2. Integration of civilization- systems in the
   system of nature and synchronization with the
   potential of ecological systems
3. Integration of all this into scientific and
   technological long-term targets

Opportunities and responsibilities
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Innovation

• Innovation is necessary to bridge the gap between
  needs of a growing population, increasing living
  standards and the physical limitations of the
  planet.

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Innovation and technology Some crucial remarks

• Under what conditions can we use the technology
  we invent? .in nuclear energy, biotechnology,
  and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). IPRs are
  crucial for risk-taking investments in new
  technologies and products.
• How do we make technologies available to the
  developing countries at a cost they can afford?
• While innovation and technology are important
  tools to address sustainable development, there
  is no guarantee that they are sufficient to close
  the gap between a growing population and the
  physical limitation of the planet. There is a
  clear need for more efficient use of resources.
• Growing public distrust in science

Björn Stigson, WBCSD
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Sustainability as basic principle of innovation

• Sustainability is a driving force for innovation
• Innovations are the driving forces for
  competitiveness and wealth.
• Innovations ask for boldness, risk taking and
  entrepreneurship
• Sustainability demands interconnected,
  interdisciplinary competences
• Sustainability is top managements/the rectors
  business.

a pioneer's affair!
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Swiss Res corporate responsibility framework
Good Corporate Governance
Opportunities and responsibilities
(Streiff, Swiss Re, Club of Vienna, 2004)
FinancialResources
Corporate Philosophy
Code of Conduct
Natural Resources
HumanResources
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Good professional perspectives
Much more important in former times.
Rising challenge!
Source Föhrenbergkreis Vienna, 2000
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Big companies change their attitude
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Consequences for targets of universities

• All these challenges mankind only can work out
  with motivated, well educated, cooperating people
  with a high tolerance for frustration.
• People responsible for others therefore have to
  actualize and sharpen their knowledge -
• How to establish clear and fascinating targets
  for their students and colleagues
• How to balance and communicate these targets with
  social, environmental and commercial criteria to
  make them acceptable for professors, students and
  the public
• How to resolve conflicts within the organization,
  to train people in crisis management and make
  them fit for continuing change and uncertainty
• How to design universities as a trustful and
  just haven for students.

Opportunities and responsibilities
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Hierarchy of Values (sketch)
(or the opposite?)
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Trans discipline research

• Interdisciplinary teaching and research is
  partially exotic in our academic world.
• Financing of cross section projects seems to
  be more difficult than within the limits of
  traditional disciplines.
• Therefore also the rules and regulations for
  trans discipline research should be evaluated
  in respect to their ability serving the
  sustainability idea as a genuine trans
  disciplinarian matter.

Does it happen?
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Recommendation The thumbtack principle
then into width

• Tell them the ongoing stories
• Give them the values
• Give them the basics in special knowledge
• Give them the matrix skills
• Give them the basics in understanding
  sustainability
• Train them to use these basics in their special
  discipline
• Set up practical projects
• Cooperate with industry and public institutions
• Set a personal example

First Into depth
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Challenges for the leading people
Knowledge of people Patience Multilingual Instin
ct inspire others Ability to communicate Solve
conflicts
Diligence Ambition Energy Toughness Enthusiasm
Ability to cooperate
Readiness to act
Specialized skills
specialized knowledge Management
knowledge Information- knowledge Self organization
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Be prepared for setbacks and disappointments

• 40 of all plans fail
• 30 of all new enterprises disappear within the
  first five years
• 50 of all mergers and re development plans
  fail
• One has therefore to live with disappointments
  and failures.
• Without frustration tolerance you are chanceless
  in tomorrow's world.

Opportunities and responsibilities
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The best plans are useless without the will to
succeed....
Sub consciousness drives our inspiration,
intention, mood, and perception. Consciousness
and action follow afterwards!
Opportunities and responsibilities
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Thanks for your attention!
THINK !
Find this presentation under http//www.woltron.c
om/Dokumente/Sustainability-University.pdf